Today 11/08/11 at 12:01 a.m., the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 video game went on sale at retail outlets in the Eastern Time Zone. My wife volunteered to go to Wal-Mart and be there when the game went on sale. She joined my gamer friend TREVORLICIOUS as the first 2 people in line. They got there late afternoon with camping chairs, cell phones, an I-Pad, and a good attitude. They waited patiently for the midnight release of this much anticipated version of the very popular series.
As the evening progressed, more people arrived to wait until the line extended through electronics and infants departments and down through the dairy department of the grocery store. An estimated 150 people were in line with the ability to purchase up to 2 games at midnight.
Occasional breaks were taken. Food was purchased in the deli and a box of donuts from the bakery that were shared with the first 10 in line. A social network of gamers had a good time waiting for 12:01. The first 3 people in line got a free Call of Duty t-shirt.
My friend Jeffy joined them to purchase the 2nd of 2 allowed games per person and came to my house to load the game on my X-Box system. By 12:15 a.m. we were online and enjoying MW3. About 1 a.m. we got kicked and couldn’t get back into the game. Jeffy went home, got online, and invited me to party with him. We played for a couple hours while trying to learn the new maps.
There will be many hours spent gaming online with friends around the county, across the state, and around the world. We usually meet online at 9:30 and play until midnight 2-3 times a week.
I appreciate my wife who waited in line with scores of young men and a few young ladies until the midnight release of this much anticipated video game. She’s one of a kind, the love of my life, and likes it when I spend time with my friends.
Mike Venturini